Hola Fam!

Hey thanks a ton for the emails glad to hear that things went well this week, sounds like you guys are super busy which is great. Gotta love it. That's so awesome that Carter continues to do well in basketball and that Jo is gonna take a nice little vacation, always the best! Hope that Mom and Dad don't feel too left out.

This week has been super hot as well! I got a little bit sick just from heat stroke I believe but we still were able to work all week. On Friday it was 37 degrees with 100 percent humidity! It was a scorcher. In our area we don't have buses we have these vans called combis. They are like white Hutterite vans but what they do is take all the seats out and just put wooden benches around the inside where you sit on. They are like 3 pesos to ride haha. But the thing is a lot of them don't have windows so they are like a 30 cent sauna! We had to take one on Friday and it was probably between 45 and 50 degrees inside! I have literally never sweat so bad in my life haha, it was definitely an interesting experience.

As far as our investigators we are working really hard right now with Itaty. She is progressing really good even though there are a lot of family problems in her house. She loves the church and the gospel a lot and she has already seen how it has helped her. She was definitely a miracle, we just found her looking for some less active members, she has a baptism date for the 24th of this month!

We are going to the temple tomorrow with Gaston, Monica, Luzmila and Agustina! They are such a cool family and so humble! They have had a few complications trying to get their papers to get married but we are still working hard on this. I love them a lot.

We have another family that we are working with now that also wants to get married but still haven't decided when, so we are trying to show them the importance of being able to keep this commandment. We went over to their house on Saturday night to eat pizza and had a little lesson with them. I love how open the Argentines are, it's cool!

We are also teaching a members daughter, her named is Romina. She is super cool and in the last week we have seen a huge progress in her. She has known the missionaries for awhile but has never really had the time or committed herself to listen and take the discussions. But just in these past little bit she has gone through some tough things which has really caused her to open up the past 2 weeks. The other day we had a super powerful lesson about the importance of repentance how how loving and merciful the Savior is. She really has a hard time feeling that in her life and as we explained it she was overcome with tears which was something super special. She has a baptism date february and her mom is capa! Definitely a great example of how important it is that the members share with their family members / friends because the mom reads with Romina pretty much everyday!

Besides that I am doing really good. We have a lot of good investigators and there is a lot to do! 

Today we are planning on buying a giant watermelon, sitting out in the shade and enjoying a nice relaxing P-day. The best part is that the watermelon here are like 3 times bigger then the ones back home... its like a complete lunch in itself!

This last week we also had our Zone Meeting and it went really well. We talked about the importance of learning how to teach how Christ taught, with power and simplicity. We also talked about how importance it is to learn the doctrine inside and out and be so familiar with it that you can explain it to anyone. As a mission we are reading parts of Preach My Gospel together, and in this next week or so we are going to be studying The Restoration. I want to invite you guys to read it with me when we read it, because it really is the key to everything we believe in and the difference that we have from everybody else. I will let you guys know more details next week. But I have no doubt and we study it and come to better understand the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the importance of a living day Prophet that our testimonies will be strengthened. We also talked in the reunion about the importance of urgency. The importance it is to decide today and work today, and not wait until tomorrow to become better. We shared the story in Matthew 4:18-22 and how the fishermen (who become the Apostles) acted as Christ called them. It talks about how the first two "left straightway" and how the next two "left immediately". I love this example. They left their families and their careers behind as the Lord called them, and this is a great invitation for everyone of us. We have all been called by Him, and its important to really ponder in what way we are following Him. With doubts, or "immediately".

I hope that we are all willing to follow the voice of our Savior immediately as He calls us, and I know that if we do we will be blessed greatly for it. I have seen that it isn't exactly about how much we know, but how quickly and willingly we are to follow and to learn. That's when the Savior can change us.

Hey have a great week, love you all!!

Elder Hansen.

Jan 5, 2015

Hey Fam and Friends!

Happy new year to everyone back there! Hope you guys had a great new start to the year and that you could party hard like you always do!! Crazy how fast 2014 went by I seriously can't believe it, but what an amazing year of progress and growth it has been! I have seen such a growth spiritually in everyone of you and it really has been such a testimony builder to me, thanks for always sharing your experiences with me, they really do strengthen me. The only thing that needs to grow now is Carter in height and strength! little smurf. haha just messing. Crazy how things change and how much you guys have changed, all looking like movie stars these days!!

We definitely have a relaxed New Year but it was really good. We went to eat with a part member family and then had to be in our apartment at 8:30 for security reasons. New Years gets a little dangerous around here. Lots of them start drinking at like noon haha. But it was a good time we were in bed and sound asleep at 10:30 haha, but we woke up at 12:00 when all the fireworks went off so we watched them for a little bit. The truth is I haven't had like 5 minutes this week to be able to sit back and think in some new years resolutions and goals, but hopefully this week will be a little less hectic and I will be able to do it. Thanks for sharing your goals with me, they all sounds super great! I have learned a ton about goals here on the mission. The other day Hermana Robertson said "that goals that aren't written down are just thoughts" I hope you guys can take some time to write down goals. I know that if we learn to make and complete our goals is when we can reach our true potential!

Today has been a pretty interesting p-day so far. So we have an investigator named Guillermo who lives in very humble conditions. He is so awesome but it breaks my heart sometimes. He has problems with the alcohol and cigarettes right now and we are really working on this. But the other day he mentioned that he needed a haircut and wanted to know if we could help him out or find someone to cut his hair. Before I could think twice I volunteered! haha. So today at 9:30 we met him in the church and I cut his hair! And he showed up with one of his friends who is sadly homeless today, and after I cut Guillermo's hair his friend shyly asked me if I would be willing to cut his. So i officially found my first 2 clients today! haha. But it was such a different but amazing little service. As I was cutting Guillermo's friends hair he said "viste Guillermo, hace algunos minutos estabamos tirados en la calle y ahora vamos a tener la facha como estes mucachos." .. which means "look Guillermo just a couple minutes ago we were out in the street and now we are going to have style like these 2 kids" haha it was so funny but such a special moment to see just how grateful they were for such a small act. That's what I love the most about people here, their sincerity and how much they really appreciate the little things. I wouldn't say it was the best hair cut in the word but it was a pretty cool experience for me.

Our investigators also continue to do well. We had a really successful day yesterday in church and Gaston, Monica and their 2 little girls went to church again! They are great and progressing super awesome. Today they went to start some of their paperwork to be able to get married, so we are hoping all went well! We also are working a lot with a older lady named Juana, and a young girl named Itaty, they are both progressing really well and have baptism dates for this month so we are really praying a lot for them. This other family we met last week didn't come to church yesterday but we had a really awesome lesson about the Restoration and they are really excited to learn more. They are super sincere people and have a strong desire to learn.. just want to be really sure before they make a decision.. kinda like mom :) haha. But its great, it shows how much it really means to them.

Things are going great! Tomorrow we have our zone meeting and Elder Emry and I are super excited it's going to be great. January is gonna be a great month in Catan and in the mission! Gotta love it, so cool to see the changes and how the Lord is bring to pass His work in these last days!

Thanks for everything, love you all and besitos!

Elder Hansen.

Best part of Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and was able to enjoy time in family and friends. I definitely enjoyed skyping with you guys a lot, it is always a special moment for a missionary to be able to share his feelings and testimony with his family. Thanks so much for listening and being so supportive! Can't thank you guys enough. It sure was a great Christmas and I feel so blessed to be a missionary, we saw so many miracles this week I can't even explain them all! I hope you all were able to feel the love of our Savior and really understand that miracles exist these days!

Well I don't even know where to start this week. But I think Ill just start by saying sorry but I don't know if I'll be able to send you many pictures while Im here, so far all the computers I've tried aren't able to send pictures haha.. but what can you do right. This cyber we are in right now is in the roof of a little shop and right now it is probably 40 degrees in here! It's gross.. but I am absolutely sweating so bad right now haha.. gotta love it! Catan is super amazing I have already come to love it a ton. It is just such a unique place and has such a special feel to it.

Church yesterday was super amazing, we had a couple great families and investigators show up! Gaston and Monica and their 2 little daughters (Lucmila is 10 and Agustina is 6) went for the second Sunday in a row! They are so awesome. They have plans on getting married so we are working a full with that right now, we are hoping that they will bet married and then be able to be baptised in February! love them so much. We also had a couple other investigators go that are progressing towards baptism in January. Itati and Juana both went yesterday so we are helping them a lot and hope that they will be able to keep all their commitments.

This week was definitely up and down. So we went to visit Angel and Francisca the other day and they had been in a fight and she ripped up their marriage papers :( so that was definitely a super hard moment for us, we were broken. We had a really good talk with them though so we will see how it goes from here on out, just have to be patience and trust in the Lord and in His time. They are super special people and have a special place in my heart, so we are going to do all we can to help them.

But the craziest thing happened right after they told us they ripped up their papers. So we left their house and we were a little bit down on ourselves. So we were walking along the street when a lady yelled out "Elders" so we quickly stopped and looked to see who it was. It was a lady and her family who we had never met before, so we quickly went over to introduce ourselves. As we got talking with them she told us that she is a less active member, and for just under a year they have been living here in Argentina. She told us that for some time she had been wanting to go to the church but just couldn't find the strength to do it. She also told us that she wanted to get married to her husband and that for some time they had been planning on it, but that it was also super hard for them to take the time to do it. So last night we went to their house and had our very first lesson with them, and we talked about the Proclamation to the Family, and it was such a special lesson! She was in tears, and her husband who isn't a member said that he would love to get married and has always thought about being baptised!! Such a miracle! So we are hoping we can go with them next week to help them set a marriage date! They also have 4 kids who are all super cool! So that's just an awesome miracle I wanted to share with you all :)

Hey but I hope you guys have a great week! Tomorrow we are going to the temple as a mission and I am more then excited. I hope you guys are taking advantage of having the temple so close and going lots :) It really is such a blessing and I know that we are blessed so much when we are inside, and that we can receive so much help and revelation from God. I love you all, thanks for everything you do and happy new years! Hope this year can be even greater then 2014. All the best!!

Love, Elder Hansen.

Hey everyone!

Well what a week it has been here in the mission! Things finished out in the office on a pretty high note, the mission christmas party was definitely a success! We started off with the regular transfer meeting, then we sang some Christmas carols, played a game, ate lunch, had a musical devotional, and watched a movie! It was awesome. The music that Hermana Robertson put together with some of the missionaries was definitely very inspirational, I sure wish I could sing haha. We watched a movie called "Ephraim`s Rescue" and oh boy was it ever a tear jerker, it definitely had me a little teary eyed. I would recommend it to all who read this. It made me realise and really understand how much the pioneers sacrificed, and how much I have in my life and how good I have things. I has definitely changed my attitude on walking 15 kilometres a day, I can't imagine what they did. You should definitely all watch it, it's incredible!

Well now the fun part. So in the office we always know the changes about 4 days ahead of time to be able to prepare everything. So the assistants had put me in one place, and to tell you the truth I didn't really believe them because its normal to hide the change to the office elders that are leaving. So for 4 days I was just dying to know where I was going to go. So Wednesday the transfer meeting came along, and it was announced that I would be serving in Gonzalez Catan with Elder Emry! I was so stoked. Catan is one of the most "prestigous" I guess you could say, areas of the whole mission. It has a rep for a couple things. Great members, lots of success, and for being very dangerous (but don't worry mom) haha :) . I was also super stoked because Elder Emry and I served in the same Zone when I was in Marcos Paz, so we already know each other super great. It has been an awesome couple days here, I absolutely love it! There have been a ton of great missionaries come through here and the ward is super strong. I'm in Catan 3A, and Elder Valdes actually served in Catan 3B. So same ward but different area of the ward. I also feel pretty humbled to be able to serve the other missionaries as well and it's going to be a great experience. 

We have a couple great families we are working with. One is going to get married on the 9th of January if all goes well! And the other family is working on their papers to get married. The family that's working on their papers actually came to church yesterday for the first time! It's Gaston, Monica and then their 2 little girls! they are super awesome, just such a happy family. This area is definitely one of the most humble places I have been in my whole mission, if not my whole life. But it is truly a blessing to see how much these people love their family, and how much they love their Savior. It is a blessing to see how they can look past the material possessions and really understand what happiness is. I can't even explain it. But I am super happy.

I was actually pretty nervous Wednesday morning. Partly to see where I was going to go, and partly to have to leave to the mission field and walk all day long! haha. After being in the office for 5 months I thought my legs were going to die. but the Lord definitely has blessed me so much. I feel so excited every morning, but walking outside all day definitely gave me a pretty nasty sun burn haha.

I don't think I have ever felt such a strong desire to share the Gospel in my whole life, I really feel like this is such a special time in my mission.. and a special time for everyone. I can't describe how much I love my Savior, for His love, His patience, and His willingness to help us. I know that He lived and died for us. And I know that He lives today and continues to be the perfect example that we can follow. I truly do believe in miracles, and I consider being a member of His restored church one of the greatest miracles in my life. I hope that we can all truly remember Him this Christmas. Not just think about Him, but remember and study His life, come closer to Him and understand better His Atonement. I know that if we do that we will feel an indescribable happiness. This is my testimony.

I am going to keep this short because we will be talking on the 25th! So excited. Hope you guys have a great week and I will see you all  in a couple days, give everyone my love and the best Christmas Wishes!

Love you all, Elder Hansen.

Elder Digovanni (of the seventy) and his wife in their classic Bethlehem costumes!

This is a picture of what the gym was like!

Us with Modesto, he didn't quite get the Bethlehem theme but he sure was rockin that outfit!

With my good pal Mateo

Mateo, Facundo, and Agustin and I in front of their Christmas tree! Such capos.

Hey everyone, 

Thanks so much for the great letters! Sounds like things have been good back home between sports and mom kicking back on the beach. I think I may have explained things wrong but I am still in the offices.. it's next Wednesday the 17th that we have changes. So that's when we will see what happens! I'm pretty nervous but also super excited, it's gonna be awesome! Time to get to work :)

Things are crazy as ever here in the office haha, finishing up the plans for the changes. We have 26 missionaries leaving and about 22 coming so that's a ton of work and a lot of trips to the airport. We also are having that Christmas party next Wednesday. I feel like mom. I have been doing some serious shopping these past couple days trying to by stuff for 240 missionaries! Oh the things that one learns on the mission, priceless! I am def gonna miss it here but It's going to be great to be out in the field, I started packing my bags today so it started to feel real haha.

Well this week has flown by again and I just want to share two miracles that we saw this week :)  We started our fast last Sunday after church, and we fasted simply to help someone progress towards baptism, and just as we left the room where we were praying a guy walked in the church. He was wearing normal clothes and had his motorbike turned on outside, but he came right up to us and asked if we were the Elders here in Caseros. As we continued to talk he told us that he used to listen to the missionaries about 2 – 3 months ago when he lived in a different area, but about 2 months ago he had separated from his girlfriend and came to Caseros. He then told us he had felt the need to talk to the missionaries and went looking for the church. When he found us! He actually lives in another area so we passed his address on to other missionaries but we are hoping he will progress with them! 

Also last Sunday we were walking down the street when we walked by a fence with the gate open. As we walked by, their dog started running behind us, so the owner came running after the dog. As he got closer to us he said to Elder Moore in English “Hey, how are you? Where are you from, Utah? Or Smith city?” When he said that Elder Moore kinda laughed, but then quickly asked him how he knew about Joseph Smith, which led to a conversation, and then we went back and met his family! They are super cool. Married, have 2 little kids and are so nice. He came with us to the church on Thursday to play soccer which was unreal! And we are going to pass by their house tonight to try to have a lesson with them. They are great, we are hoping they will come to church tomorrow! Crazy how the dog just happened to come running behind us. Some may call it coincidence.. but I have learned just how perfect the Lord´s plan is and how he uses every situation to give us chances to share the Gospel.

Last night we had our Ward Christmas Party which was the highlight of the week! There was a lot of less active families and non members that attended which was super awesome, we met a lot of great people. I think there were over 100 people that showed up, pretty awesome! We are definitely going to use this to work with the members to find new people to teach. The activity was based around Bethlehem. It was all decorated with antique looking stands which each of the different organizations did. So everyone came to the activity dressed up like they did back in the day, it was pretty cool! I will be sure to attach some pictures below. I love this ward, the people definitely have a special place in my heart and I am going to miss them a ton. We also got to stay out till 10:15 so that was pretty crazy. haha.

Well fam I hope you guys are doing great! Lots to do today but the next time I will be writing you will probably be Monday the 22nd. 3 days before Christmas! So crazy. Love you guys so much, thanks for being such amazing examples to me. You have really helped me so much through my life and I am grateful from all my heart for all you have done.

Have a good week, bring on the snow in Argentina! I wish...

Love, Elder Hansen.

Best christmas wishes to all lets givumm the greatest gift of all whoot!

Here's one of the best parts of being in the office. After 2 hours of planning a Christmas party for 240 missionaries President and Hermana Robertson treated us to a nice American Thanksgiving Dinner... unreal!!

My ping pong skills are terribleee now! haha

The pool at the mission home that we can't use. For the president's family only.

Hey fam and friends!

Thanks so much for the great letters this week. I am still sitting here in the chair with my jaw dropped to the floor after seeing those massive dunks by Carter haha.. good for you buddy! So proud of you. Hope you don't mind that I am showing everyone here in the office haha. Sounds like things haven't stopped for one minute. Mom going to Hawaii, Dad and Carter a full week with sports and Jo working as always! You guys are the best :) Thanks for always keeping me updated and for the support. Crazy that this will be my last full week here in the office. There is so much to do it's gonna be crazy! We have to finish planning the Christmas party for 240 missionaries.. joy! haha. It's gonna be fun though we have some great stuff planned out.

Speaking of that.. Can't believe that Christmas is coming so soon, I love Christmas in the mission it is such a sacred and special time of year to share the Gospel with everyone. It really is a time where the Lord blesses us as missionaries with so many miracles, and I feel that He touches the hearts of the people just a little bit more. I hope we can all remember that and desire to share with a loved one this Christmas season. Today I was reading President Uchtdorfs message called "Fill the World with Christ's Love" and this part really stuck out to me...

"Jesus the Christ, who knew perfectly how to give, set for us the pattern for giving. To those whose hearts are heavy with loneliness and sorrow, He brings compassion and comfort. To those whose bodies and minds are afflicted with illness and suffering, He brings love and healing. To those whose souls are burdened with sin, He offers hope, forgiveness, and redemption.

If the Savior were among us today, we would find Him where He always was—ministering to the meek, the downcast, the humble, the distressed, and the poor in spirit. During this Christmas season and always, may we give to Him by loving as He loves. May we remember the humble dignity of His birth, gifts, and life. And may we, through simple acts of kindness, charity, and compassion, fill the world with the light of His love and healing power."

I love the simplicity but importance that comes with Christmas. How the Lord came in humble circumstances to serve the humble, lonely, and the poor, and how all He asks us is to share this love with others. With this program of "He is the Gift" the church is really inviting us to share this simple but life changing gift of our Savior with everyone. So we have special Christmas cards that we have, and we are trying to give out at least 10 everyday.. and with this we are trying to think of creative ways to catch peoples attention. One of my favorites we have been doing is simply asking the people what is the one thing that they want most for Christmas not caring about how much money it costs. As they think and express their ideas we then share that we have something even better and more valuable for them, a message from our Savior Jesus Christ. It has been working pretty well. We found a couple new people to teach this week through this! We are also going to buy wrapping paper today and then we are going to wrap up Book of Mormon's and hand them out in the street! haha. It's going to be cool. The options are endless.

We also saw another special miracle this week. So Teodora was working for a sewing company but she just quit last week because she wants to work in her house. So she asked us if we knew anyone who would like to work with her because there is a ton to do. This is when we remembered about our investigators Nikolas y Emilce. Emilce has been without work for along time now and hasn't been able to find any.. and we promised her we would look. So it just happened Teodora needed someone, and Emilce was looking.. what a miracle! So we talked to Emilce and gave her Teodora´s number and they are planning to meet up and talk about working together! We also talked with Teodora about the great opportunity this would be to talk about the Gospel with Emilce.. and she was super excited to do it! It's amazing how the things just work out perfectly, and how much the Lord really watches out for His children. It was such a special thing for me.

Besides that things are going good, lots of work to do but my hijo Elder Moore is super bueno and he is learning really fast. He pretty much has it all down. It's definitely going to be different when I get out of here but it's going to be a blessing. I have learned a ton in the office and I'm excited to put it to work and truly be able to dedicate all the time I have in the Lord's harvest. I hope that this Christmas season we can all do just a little bit more, and think of just a little something extra we can do to make the world a better place.

Hope you guys have a great week. You're always in my prayers :)

With Love, Elder Hansen.